Ida Roverta Fowler Mansfield (1921-2013) Obituary

Ida Roverta Fowler Mansfield (1921-2013) Obituary

Grace: Ida Fowler Mansfield, age 92, passed away at the Caribou Memorial Living Center in Soda Springs, Idaho, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013. The harvest was over and her work was done, so she slipped quietly through the veil. Ida Roverta Fowler, daughter of Frank J Fowler and Ida M. Ashbaker Fowler, was born on 27 Feb 1921 at their home in Grace, Idaho. She was only a month old when her mother passed away. For the first two years of her life Ida and older brother, Ray, were in the care of a beloved aunt, Lily Peck. Two years later, her father married Vera Buckley Rich, who had also been widowed, and more children joined the Fowler family, including Mae, Vera’s daughter, who was nearly Ida’s age, and Vera’s step-children from her husband, Charles Rich’s first marriage, Leonard, Tom and Ruth. Eventually Frank and Vera added three more children to the family, Leah, Floyd and Farrell. It was a family that incorporated four family lines and they blended beautifully.

Ida was born a few years before the Great Depression and she learned how to work on the farm with her parents and siblings, and how to share responsibilities and have fun. She graduated from the Grace High School, and a few days later married her sweetheart, John Dewey Mansfield on 20 May 1939. Their son, Brent was born the following year while they lived in Grace.

In 1941 Dewey passed a civil service test for aircraft mechanics and reported for training at the Utah State Agricultural College in Logan, and Hill Air Force Base in Clearfield. After his training was completed, he continued to work at Hill, and a daughter, Louise, joined the family. They had just purchased a home in Layton, Utah, when Dewey was drafted into the Army and deployed to the Philippines during World War II. During that time Ida went to work at the Naval Supply Depot in Clearfield and prayed for the safe return of her husband and her brothers, Leonard and Ray. Dewey and Ray did return, but her brother, Leonard Rich, was killed in France in 1944.

Following Dewey’s discharge from military service, they decided to sell their home in Layton and return to Grace, where they began leasing her parents farm, and added a son, Craig, to their family. Ida worked with her husband, and together they taught their children the same work ethic and sacrificed to provide other opportunities for their children to learn and grow.

Ida loved the farm and working in her garden and yard to create a haven of beauty that gladdened the heart and pleased the eye. For a while she attempted to raise chickens and sell the eggs, but found she enjoyed more raising raspberries and sharing with family and friends. She loved to cook and bake and experiment with recipes, and her bread and pies were the Best! During all that time, she somehow found time to sew, crochet beautiful afghans and doilies, and make quilts for her children and grandchildren, who were always the best part of her day. She loved spending time with you!

For a few years Ida and Dewey spent the winter months visiting family in Arizona and New Mexico. They retired from farming in 1997, and Dewey passed away in 1999, after nearly 60 years of marriage. Until the time of her illness, Ida continued to maintain her home and yard in Grace, enjoying her independence and the prospect of all she could accomplish in a day. She loved her calling in the Church serving as a Visiting Teacher Supervisor. For the final year of her life, Ida lived at Spring Creek Assisted Living and then at the Caribou Memorial Living Center in Soda Springs, Idaho.

Ida is survived by her children, Louise (Don) Jones and Craig (Ida) Mansfield, all of Grace; a daughter-in-law, Erika Mansfield of Lordsburg, NM; sisters-in-law, Joyce Fowler of Blackfoot, ID, and Wanda Fowler of Hot Springs, AR. She is also survived by a posterity that includes 13 grandchildren, 56 great-grandchildren and numerous great-great-grandchildren .

The last of her family, Ida was preceded in death by her mother, father and beloved stepmother, as well as her siblings, Leonard Rich, Tom Rich, Ruth Rich Mc-Nair, Mae Rich Harwood, Ray Fowler, Leah Fowler Blair, Floyd Fowler and Farrell Fowler. She was also preceded by her eternal companion, Dewey Mansfield, their son Brent Mansfield and a grandson Troy Mansfield.

Services will be held on Monday, December 16, 2013 at Noon at the Grace LDS Stake Center. The family will visit with friends on Sunday evening from 7-8 p.m. at the Sims Funeral Home in Soda Springs and on Monday morning from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Stake Center prior to services . Interment will be in the Grace Cemetery.

We suggest that in lieu of flowers you donate to provide Christmas for the Residents of either Springs Creek of the Living Center, or to the charity of your choice.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family online at www.simsfh.com .